Dear Friends,

This is one of those years when the calendar pushes our spiritual emotions around. We are in a kind of "fast-forward" mode as we are forced from Thanksgiving to Advent in a mere three day span. We have to hurry to remove the fabulous harvest table at the front of the sanctuary and replace it with the Advent wreath as the focus of our attention. It is a bit dizzying!

Advent, ready or not, is upon us. I hope that we are able to remember that it is intended to be a four week period of preparation for the birth of Christ. It is always sadly stunning to me that the world outside the church is seemingly in love with Christmas but perplexed by, ignorant of, or even hostile toward Christ. I will receive almost no argument when I say that Christmas has been secularized. I'll go beyond that to say that it has been vulgarized by a culture which generally thinks of salvation in economic terms and is almost embarrassed that Christmas is a holy day. Our society measures the success of Christmas by the amount of spending we do and how that spending affects the state of the U.S. economy.

The great American philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, once said that we human beings are prone to "mistake the menu for the meal." He was thinking about how little people concentrate on the meaning of things because they dwell upon the things themselves as all there is. Eventually, if this concentration continues, nothing has meaning beyond what appears. That is when we are duped into thinking that the menu is all there is and we have almost no memory that the menu should describe real food.

We make that mistake about Thanksgiving and, even more tragically, about Christmas. In so doing we have fallen into the error of making even Christmas about ourselves. For the vast preponderance of people in the U.S., perhaps the world, we have made Christmas into a gift-giving extravaganza in utter ignorance of the fact that the Wise Men brought gifts to Bethlehem to humble themselves before the Christ child as the spiritual hope of all the ages. I surmise that we have placed ourselves in the place of Christ. If we have, then we have surely mistaken the menu for the meal. If we have, we may be left wondering not only what the meaning of Christmas is, but what meaning there is to life itself.

I am surely not saying that all is doom and gloom about our cultural celebrations of Christmas, although I may feel a bit gloomy about over extended credit cards! What I am saying is that Christmas has a spiritual meaning for beyond what we have made of it. Christmas is all about us when we remember that it is all about God's pure gift to us. The word grace means "pure gift." Christmas is about the grace of God in the gift of God's presence in the Christ child. If we remember and spiritually celebrate the birth of Christ, we will then, and only then learn that there is a satisfying meal beyond the menu of the market place.

© The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.

Morning Worship 10:00 A.M. Rev. Gary Marks will be preaching. The Lighting of the First Advent Candle.

Greeters: Betsey Randall and Hildegard Schimpf

The Pulpit Flowers are in loving memory of Beverly and Richard Correa given by Walter, husband and father.

All are invited to join us for Coffee Hour downstairs in Allerton Hall following the worship service. Also, Volunteers are needed to sign up for Coffee Hour. Please look for the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour counter.

Greeters are needed for the month of January. Please call the church office to volunteer to greet or look for the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour counter.

Office Hours: M-F 8:45 A.M.-3:45 P.M. Thursday's 8:30 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

CHURCH RECORD

Recuperating after Hospitalization: Florence Bradley and Elaine Sampson.

THIS WEEK

Sunday, Nov. 30 Morning Worship 10:00 A.M., Rev. Gary Marks will be preaching.

Monday, Dec. 1: Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in Allerton Hall; Girl Scout Tr. 1128, 4:00 P.M. in Church House

Tuesday, Dec. 2: Rev. Marks will be in the church office, 9:30-11:00 A.M. Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Wednesday, Dec. 3: Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in Allerton Hall; Rev. Dan's office hours 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.; Staff Meeting, 10:00 A.M.; Choir Rehearsal - 7:30 P.M; Tr. 47, 7:00 P.M. in the Church House; Pack 47, 7:00 P.M. in the Church House; Advent Prayer and Reflection, 7:00 P.M.-7:30 P.M. in the Sanctuary; Missions Meeting in Allerton Hall, 7:00 P.M.

Thursday, Dec. 4: Rev. Dan's office hours Noon-2:00P.M.; G.S. Tr. 1227, 4:00 P.M-5:30 P.M. in the Church House; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Friday, Dec. 5: Rev. Marks' office hours, 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.; Girl Scouts 4:30-5:45 P.M. in the Church House to organize for Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Saturday, Dec. 6:

PLEASE NOTE

Please call the church office if you are aware of persons hospitalized or in need of pastoral care. It is especially important to let the ministers know about out-of-town hospitals. Hospital listings prepared for clergy at the Jordan Hospital, too, have been irregular in availability. It is, therefore, important that the ministers and church office be informed of any hospitalizations. Thank you for your help.

Membership Classes- Rev. Marks is planning another series of classes for those desiring to become members of The Church of the Pilgrimage. If you are interested in becoming a part of our church family and its ministry, please speak to Rev. Marks or call the church office.
We thank Nancy Stearns, Ruth Fry and Kathy Marks for preparing the beautiful harvest table for our Thanksgiving celebration.

We also thank Liisa Budge, Diana Budge and all who provided our Pilgrimage Open House on Thanksgiving Day. It is greatly appreciated!

Rev. Marks plans to offer a prayer and reflection service on Wednesdays in Advent at 7:00 P.M. in the sanctuary. The gatherings will focus spiritually on Advent themes. Each service will be brief, 7:00-7:30 P.M. and will be similar to the Celtic Prayer and Reflection times held last year. If there is enough interest, the group may continue beyond Advent. Please join us and together we shall prayerfully prepare ourselves for the birth of Christ.

Rev. Marks gave a lecture on "Covenant and Compact" to the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendents at Benjamin's Restaurant in Taunton on November 15, 2003.
Rev. Marks took part in an ecumenical Thanksgiving Service at the Newfield House on November 19, 2003.

Rev. Marks gave a lecture to a Vision Forum tour group on John Robinson in the sanctuary on November 25, 2003.

Rev. Marks played the role of The Elder Brewster in the Thanksgiving Day Pilgrim's Progress.

We were saddened to learn of the sudden death last week of the Rev. Richard Maxwell. Dick was a former minister of The Chiltonville Congregational Church, past Governor General of the Mass. Mayflower Descendents Society, and was currently the president of the Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum. We are grateful to Dick for his service to the church and to the Town of Plymouth.

Memorial Poinsettias: Sign up in the lower vestibule following the service on the next three Sundays, or call the church office. Flowers are $15, and may be donated to shut-ins or picked up after the Christmas Eve services. Volunteers will be needed to take flowers to shut-ins following the service on Christmas Sunday.

The Harvest Fair Special Fund-Raising Offer is still available. Order the 2004 Expanded Edition of "Dine N Save". The new books are in so please see Dave Cowie or Diana Budge during coffee hour if you have purchased a new book. If you have any questions please see Diana Budge or Dave Cowie.

The Annual Missions Family Christmas Dinner will be held on December 14, 2003 at 5:00 P.M. Sign-up in Allerton Hall after worship on November 30th and December 7th or call the church office. The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, December 10, 2003. The menu is Lasagna, Salad, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream. Meal will be served at 5:30 P.M. The program is called "The True Meaning of Christmas" by Sheldon Peavey. Please bring an "unwrapped" gift to be laid under the tree. Thank you the Missions Committee.

The Pilgrimage Women's Fellowship Christmas Party will be held December 8 at 6:00 P.m. in Allerton Hall. The festivities include a potluck dinner, gift wrapping, sing-a-long and a Yankee swap. To be a part of the swap, please bring a wrapped gift with a value of under $10.00. For the potluck the division of labor will be done according to the first letter of your last name: A-L main dishes, M-R salads and side dishes, R-Z appetizers. If you would like to bring home a sampling of leftovers, bring a container with your name on it. All women of the church are welcome. Jenny and Marna.

The Women's Fellowship and The Board of Trustee's are working together to assist in delivering donations to the Food Pantry at the Christ Episcopal Church. You will see two baskets on either side of the lower vestibule with signs directing you to put your donations of dry goods and personal items in these baskets. The items will be delivered on a weekly to the Christ Episcopal Church. This is an ongoing weekly event. Please donate weekly by depositing your donation in one of the two baskets. Thank You!

The Christmas Fund Offering formally known as Veterans of the Cross will be taken on Christmas Sunday, December 21, 2003. The Christmas Fund, administered by the Pension Boards, provides Gift checks to low-income retired clergy and their spouses; emergency assistance to clergy in financial need; and funding for Pension and Health supplementation plans for low-income retired clergy and lay workers. Offering envelopes will be in included in next week's Herald. Your support is appreciated!

Living Nativity at Overlook Farm, 216 Wachusset St., Rutland, MA, December 13th and 14th from 1:00 to 5:30 P.M. A live nativity complete with animals will be presented at the beginning of each hour. There will be an offering at the conclusion of each presentation. Sleigh or hayrides will be available, and the gift shop will be open. There is no charge, but please bring a plate of cookies to share. For more information call 508-886-2221.

Lending Library: There is now a bookcase in Allerton Hall filled with books for anyone to take and read. We hope that you will take advantage of the opportunity to both borrow and lends books as they become available. There is no charge and no obligation to return books if you would like to give them a permanent home. We do have a small collection of books for religious study in this bookcase and there are also many more in the cabinets of the Mayflower Room for anyone interested in serious study to borrow. We hope that many of you will take the opportunity to make use of our lending library and to add to it with books that you have enjoyed. The Board of Trustees.

COMING EVENTS

Dec. 7: The Second Sunday in Advent/Guild Sunday.

Dec. 8: Rev. Marks will attend a board meeting of The American Congregational Association in Boston.

Dec. 14: The Third Sunday in Advent-Mission Committee Christmas Dinner, 5:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Dec. 21: Forefather's Day.

Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - David Kegel; Collector - Thomas Mudgett;
Asst. Collector - Debbie Chaskes; Music Director - William B Richter;
Secretary - Pam McNicholas; Sexton - Tony Nightingale; World Mission Emphasis - Heifer Project International;
Church Building Telephone - (508) 747-1341.